Kellogg’s recently introduced a new product to the cereal/cereal bar market- cereal straws. These crunchy nuggets are a flavored base with a cereal coating which is totally edible, doesn’t fall apart as quickly in milk as cereal, and is marketed as a fun way to get kids to drink milk. Also, they were explained to me as a great way to eat breakfast on the go.
I’m not a mom who has trouble getting my kids to drink milk. My children would drink milk all night and day if I let them, with or without flavorings. Still, I was introduced to this product through a group of mothers, and really thought my children (ages 4 and 3) would LOVE this product. I decided to spring it on them as a special surprise one morning. I was not expecting the response I received.
The straws are tasty enough, though their true texture is more like a Pirouette cookie. Immediately, there was a problem with the straws. They box comes with two sleeves of plastic casings, each holding 12 straws (24 total in a box). When I opened the first package, 7 of the 12 straws were broken. This was not very good packaging for a product that is supposed to be used as a straw. (Unless you are planning on using a really short glass, straw pieces are not going to be used for their original purpose.) Also, with 12 straws in a package, they are not set up to be used “on the go”. For anyone with preschoolers, on the go is a very important criterion for food.
For purposes of this review we used the Cocoa Krispies cereal straws. The product is also available as Froot Loops flavor. We have tried both flavors prior to writing this review. I gave each of the girls one of the straws, then sat back to watch the fun begin. Almost immediately, the four year old (who loves drinking through a straw normally) removed her straw and asked if she could just have regular cereal instead. My three year old dipped hers into the milk, took a bite, then promptly removed it from the glass and drank her milk without it.
The nutritional information on the side of the box lists the serving size as 3 straws. For three straws you get 12 grams of sugar, 10% of 7 vitamins, and 140 calories. The same bowl of cereal (for comparison I’m using the Cocoa Krispies cereal) has 14 grams of sugar, 25% of eight vitamins, and turns the milk chocolate flavored, which the straws do not.
The straws could have a place in my kitchen, just not as their intended purpose. Until they get the packaging fixed, there aren’t enough long pieces to use the straws as straws, anyway. Out of my package of 24, over half were broken, making the straws considerably shorter. Secondly, they do not change the milk a flavor, which is what many of the mothers in my group expected to happen. Although I have heard others say the milk tastes like chocolate, we did not notice any flavor difference. Honestly, it would be more fun to drink the milk out of your cereal bowl with a regular straw. Come to think of it, it would be cheaper, too.
Finally, breakfast on the go? Not really, unless you skip the milk. The straws are too fat for putting into the milk boxes we have, and it takes my girls much longer to eat these than a pop tart (the ultimate Kellogg’s food-to-go in my opinion. Would I skip them all together? No, I’ll keep a box. The shape is a great tree trunk for pirate foods, they make good cookies, and at a slumber party in a chocolate milk shake, they’d be just the thing. Save these for a special occasion, but skip them for breakfast.
